The plea of a cricket fan from Bangladesh

CHITTAGONG, BANGLADESH – MARCH 11: A Bangladesh supporter looks on during the 2011 ICC World Cup Group B match between Bangladesh and England at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on March 11, 2011 in Chittagong, Bangladesh. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

In the upcoming quarterly meeting in Dubai on January 28 and 29, the ICC will present a draft proposal in an ICC Board Meeting where England, Australia and India will be the future rulers of world cricket. The key proposals of the draft are -

1. New executive committee (ExCo) to be set up with permanent memberships for BCCI, CA, ECB, to override all other committees.

2. Promotion and relegation in Test cricket, with exceptions made in the cases of BCCI, CA, ECB.

3. ICC to be delinked from FTP arrangements, with bilateral agreements only taking over

New finance model of ICC revenue distribution.

4. Key positions in ICC – ICC chairman, chairmen of ExCo and finance & commercial affairs committee – to be nominees of BCCI-CA-ECB.

5. Reinstatement of Champions Trophy in 2017 and 2021 in place of the World Test Championships.

Source: Cricinfo

So, the ICC is changing! It is suppose to unleash itself in a rather autocratic manner. An oligarchy in the name of democracy. The newly build emperor will have three big rulers to run the world cricket and will work according to their own benefits without even bothering about the others.

Rather than an institution for the well being of cricket, the ICC will be more like a business institution where financial gains and loses matter the most rather than the game itself.

As a Bangladeshi I am not impressed with this. If this new proposal gets approved at the Board Meeting, then it’s not only Bangladesh but teams like Zimbabwe too which will gain nothing.

ICC’s Future Tour Programs (FTP) used to plan tours for each Test playing nation and due to which each nation was bound to play against each other. Even if the big guns were reluctant to play against the lower-ranked teams, still, because of the FTP they were bound to play against them. But if the proposed drafts get approved, then the lower-ranked teams, especially Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will hardly be able to play against the top sides as because the ICC will be delinked from the FTP arrangements with bilateral arrangements.

There is a school of thought that the top ranked sides of world cricket are reluctant to play against the lower ranked teams and above all, the sponsors and broadcasters as well are pretty disinterested in such series. Even in the current FTP schedule, Bangladesh have hardly any series against the big guns of world cricket. For example, till 2020, Bangladesh have no full series on the Indian soil. The last time Bangladesh played a Test match against India was fourteen years ago while Bangladesh toured Australia for a Test series was way back in 2003.

Anyhow, keeping in mind the financial gains and loses, perhaps, the ICC have come up with such an idea which will leave the lower-ranked sides in the cold. Will such sort of businessman-like-thinking help in improving cricket? How can teams like Bangladesh or Zimbabwe improve if they are not given the opportunity to play against the best teams in the world? How can they polish their skills if they are not invited to tour in countries like Australia and England?

The more a team plays against the better sides, the more they learn, the more they improve and the better idea would have been to arrange an FTP where all nations will tour and play against each other for a full series on a regular basis no matter how reluctant the top teams are!

Over the years, Bangladesh as a team has been very eye-catching and their improvement graph is upwards. Some pretty exciting individuals have given this team a new confidence to face the toughest tasks and Bangladesh nowadays aren’t pathetic losers. And don’t forget that the world’s best all-rounder is from Bangladesh.

Now, suppose, if the ICC approves the proposed draft, then we might see that Bangladesh having no Test series at all due to the reluctant attitude of the other nations in a given year and thus been relegated without even playing a Test match then how sensible and logical would it be?

With the demand of time and situation things change and any change which is productive is always welcomed. But, how productive would be the ICC’s proposed draft for world cricket? Even as a cricket follower such proposals only makes the eyes burn with irritation. Be it the BCCI, ECB or CA, their existence only possible because of the fans who love this game of cricket dearly.

Maybe, BCCI or ECB or CA has the largest eyeball and audience to follow this game, but isn’t cricket followers like me from Bangladesh are fans? As because I represent a lower-ranked side and my team fails to meet the demands of the sponsors and broadcasters, should my passion for cricket and my team be ignored?

Cricket is a game for the people watching it and the players who represent it. It will be better if the ICC think as a true cricket lover.

But will they think like this?